At the end of November 2024, Mathieu Gatimel and his father Gérard will leave for what will be their last adventure in Oman. The 76-year-old retired school teacher suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. Father and son will therefore put an end to more than 25 years of shared passion for walking and make a film about it.
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It’s the perfect end to an adventure. Since he was 20, Mathieu Gatimel, a 46-year-old sports teacher from Dijon, has been walking with his father Gérard, a resident of Auxerre. More than a Sunday activity, it is a real symbiosis that this former teacher and his son developed while walking together. These hikes took them to Iceland, Nepal and even Jordan.
Mathieu and Gérard Gatimel have nearly 25 years of adventures of all kinds behind them, including a month-long trip to Nepal.
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© Mathieu and Gérard Gatimel
But last year, Gérard Gatimel was told at the age of 76 that he had Alzheimer’s disease. The trips between father and son have therefore become much more complicated. This is where the idea emerges from Mathieu’s mind: to have one last great adventure with his father. And his friend Cédric de Montceau, an independent creator, suggested he make a film about it.
The destination of this “last walk”, the sports teacher did not take long to choose. In 2019, while they were trekking in Oman, they were forced to return early with the first signs of the Covid pandemic. “We were talked to throughout our entire trip of wrong”recalls Mathieu Gatimel. “It is a town on the border of Yemenin the southwest of Oman, very particular with a monsoon in summer which makes this area completely greennte. It’s a kind of oasis town.”
And this corner of greenery in the middle of the desert, the adventurer dreamed of it long after: “During the whole confinement, I was a little worried about this frustration of not having been able to do everything we wanted at that time. The project became concrete during the confinement.”
Cédric de Montceau, independent creator and friend of Mathieu, is the director of “The Last Walk”, this film which will tell the story of the Gatimels’ journey. When the sports teacher told him about this project, he didn’t hesitate. “I immediately saw the possibility of making a profound film”he summarizes. The two friends met Denis Brogniart, who convinced them to carry out this project. “We explained the idea of the project and he told us to go for it because he hadn’t had the chance to enjoy his father for a very long time and neither share things with him”confie Mathieu Gatimel.
All that remained was to convince the main interested party: “I knew my father would be very interested in this idea and that was the case. It reminded me of our first big trip, we were supposed to go to Ardèche, but I surprised him by taking him to Iceland. I I will always remember his face when I told him that it would be better to take warmer clothes.”
“It is both an end and a beginning”
If Mathieu Gatimel has been working on this expedition and this documentary project for a year, it is because he wants to share. The sports teacher, who considers himself “lucky” to have been able to share so many things with his father. “These last 25n years, when we met people, people always asked us what we were to each other and each time we answered that we were father and son we received a kind look. I think people it also brought them back to their condition as children and parents and there was always this mixture of motivation and kindness. The fact that we were both like that spoke to everyone.”
Even if he admits to having difficulty “projecting himself towards the end of the adventure”, Mathieu Gatimel feels the excitement of the approaching adventure: “Everything we shared was so extraordinary that I have no regrets. This new adventure is both an end and a beginning.”
Father and son will leave at the end of November or beginning of December for this “last walk” which should last a month. The idea is to do as much of the way as possible on foot, but Mathieu Gatimel does not rule out doing a few segments by boat, camel or even kayak.
The poster for “The Last March”, directed by Cédric de Montceau.
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© Cédric de Montceau
Of the €12,000 needed to carry out this project, €4,000 comes from an online prize pool and €4,000 from partners. Currently, Mathieu Gatimel and Cédric de Montceau are still looking for certain partners. For the occasion, they were also able to present their film idea this Friday, October 4 at the Écrans de l’aventure festival in Dijon. Note that this documentary is the winner of the 2024 adventure grant.
If you would like to contribute to this project, it is possible to do so on HelloAsso.
